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I love summer. Although I love spending time outdoors and adore warm weather, my favorite part of summer is grilling season. The thought of being able to hand the dinner menu over to one of the men in the family makes me feel all warm and snuggly inside. Naturally I take advantage of this every chance I get. My son has proven to be an able griller; often asking me if I would like for him to prepare the evening entrée on the grill. There is no possibility I will say no to this. Recently I found a new method of preparing chicken on the grill—spatchcocking. I was intrigued and told my son, “We’re going to try spatchcocking a chicken!” The look I received in response was priceless. “That sounds like some sort of medieval torture method,” he said.
While searching the meat case at Walmart, I found Tyson Cornish Hens and knew they would be perfect for my recipe. I planned to make a chicken marinade with Kikkoman Soy Sauce for a taste pairing that would come together quickly, but be nice enough to serve to picky dinner guests. Did I mention I like to cook easy recipes that look impressive? No one has to know I didn’t spend hours preparing the food!
Spatchcocking a chicken is easier than it sounds. You will need a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears. Place your chicken breast side up on a cutting board.
Make a cut on either side of the breast bone and remove the bone. Voila! The chicken is spatchcocked.
I made a marinade using Kikkoman soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, orange juice, fresh lime juice and green onions. I stuffed the empty backbone cavity with green onions, ginger and lime peel, then allowed the chicken to marinade for 24 hours to lock in the chicken seasoning.
To prepare the chicken on the grill, be sure to take tongs or in our case, a potato masher, and press the Cornish hen flat. Brush with marinade and allow to grill approximately ten minutes, before turning the chicken and repeating the process. After the first turn, the chicken will have to be turned regularly, about once every three to four minutes until done. We removed our chicken from the grill when it reached an internal temperature of 160 F.
Our chicken received two thumbs up from everyone who tried it, including my pickiest child. Want to make this recipe and save money? There will be a $2 off coupon for anyone who purchases the Cornish Game Hen Twin Pack and a 10 oz bottle of Kikkoman sauce together (neck hanger messaging will be on the Kikkoman sauce bottle starting June 1 and offer will be on coupons.com starting May 15, available until September 30 or while supplies last).
- 2 Tyson Cornish Hens
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 cup Kikoman Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon grated lime peel
- Mix 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger, 3/4 cup green onions, orange juice, lime juice and soy sauce together in a medium bowl. Pour mixture into a 1 gallon freezer bag. Mix remaining ginger, onions and lime peel in a separate bowl. Place the ginger, onions and lime peel in the center of the bird where the breast bone has been removed. Add the chickens to the freezer bag filled with marinade. Allow to marinate for up to 24 hours, but no less than 2 hours. Remove chickens from marinade and place on grill. Brush occasionally with marinade during cooking.
Need more inspiration for your summer cooking? How do you #Grill4Flavor?
That marinade sounds delicious! Those are some flavors that I love! #client
Kris
That looks amazing! I am not sure that I have ever tried cornish game hen before.
We had cornish hens at an event that we attended recently. They were surprisingly yummy and had a lot of meat on them.
Wow! This looks so perfect! I am definitely going to have to try this! Thanks for the recipe!
Ginger is a great flavor on meat. Looks delicious. I am sure it was a hit
i have never grilled a whole hen before, and need to get that pressing tool. Great recipe though for all sorts of chicken cuts!
I love the flavor of ginger in just about anything. This looks delicious!
I’m interested to see what Ginger and Lime taste like when out together. Gotta try this recipe over the summer
Oh that looks so darn good! I may have to try this out. Thanks for sharing
I’ve never tried making a cornish hen, let alone on the grill. Looks delicious though so maybe I’ll give it a whirl!
yummy, the mix of ingredients sound wonderful! I have never thought of trying to grill a cornish hen, i will have to try this!
That looks delicious and your photos are fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
II have tried the orange ginger version on regular chicken, but the Cornish meat and lime I bet it was delicious!
I’ve been hearing about this a bit lately. I’ve never tried it so it’s interesting to hear recipes like this and see how they turn out.
Ginger and lime together sounds wonderful! I have got to try this! Once again, you’ve outdone yourself, Pam! Hope my family never discovers your site – they’ll throw me out with the bath water! 🙂
Oh yum that sounds so tasty – I don’t think I’ve had ginger and lime with chicken before. x
I love ginger and lime. Yum. You are making me hungry with that tasty looking bird.
I have never made a cornish hen, thanks for the great tutorial, wiill have to try this on the grill this summer
That looks so good. Thank you for sharing.I need to add that to my “must make” list.
Mmmm. These look really tasty. I’ve never had Cornish Hens before. I need to give them a try with your recipe!
Ginger and lime together, that would be amazing! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m getting a grill for Father’s Day (err my husband is) and I can’t wait to try a recipe like this!
I’ve never had a cornish hen, but this recipe sounds tasty!
Wow this is cool – so nice to see a recipe using something a little different (or at least Cornish hens arte pretty different in my corner of the world!) Thanks for sharing!
I have never cooked a hen before but your opening photos tells me that I need to try too. This looks like it is yummy.
You make this look so easy. I totally want to try this out on the grill, now to convince hubby. 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious, I need to try this during the summer time!
It’s been such a long time since I made Cornish Hens. This would be a nice way to spice up / offer variety to the fam.!
Mmm, this recipe looks great! I can practically taste it!
This looks and sounds fabulous! I’ll have to get my husband to make these on the grill soon!
I wish I could grill today, but sadly I cannot! It is pouring out and I cannot get out there. This recipe does look good though!
My MIL was just telling me about Splatchcocking – I want to try this next time I make chicken!
I really need to start cooking with ginger more often. This dish looks delish!
This looks absolutely amazing! I have never made a cornish hen before.
I never knew how to cook a cornish hen, but always wanted to know! This looks awesome and absolutely delicious!
That looks so good. Never thought about grilling a chicken like that but yep, I have to try this out this summer for sure!
I love cornish hens! I would never have thought to cook them on the grill. Thanks for the recipe!
These look delicious but I’m still looking up spatchcocking!
That technique is pretty cool. The flavors look amazing too. Can I come over for dinner?
I haven’t made cornish hens in forever. I may have to add this to the menu plan next week!
me too, my kids have never had these, they would probably enjoy it!
YUM! That looks so good! Saving the recipe!
This looks amazing,I will give this a try.I love anything with lemon or lime i love the kick it gives food.
I also love foods with a twist of lemon or lime!! Yum!
I love Cornish hens. Great recipe.
That sounds so tasty. Cornish Hens are very popular in my house and I usually have to cook at least 3 of them at a time to make sure everyone gets enough 🙂